Lollapallooza stage at dusk/By Kellen M. Henry

If having parents in town is the best way to save money during the weekend, a friend visit might be the worst.

There’s the pressure to show them a good time and eat at fun restaurants and have frosty beers at funky bars. Plus, they’re living the vacation splurge while you’re living business as usual. Plus, they’ve probably got a little extra from the vacation piggy bank if they’re crashing on your couch instead of staying at a hotel.

Luckily, my good friend and house guest for Lollapalooza last weekend is cash conscious in addition to being charming and delightful.

Read on to see how we got through the weekend without breaking the bank:

For first-time visitors to the city, the tourist stuff is high on the list and a lot of it is free, too. My friend and I got some sun at the Lake Michigan beachfront, took a long walk down the “Magnificent Mile” and made our way down to Millenium Park to splashed around in the fountain. Later, we took in the fireworks on Navy Pier… all for free. I’ve shied away from doing touristy stuff since moving here, so it was pretty fun for me too.

On Sunday, we had pricy tickets to Lollapallooza, so we didn’t want to drop any more cash at the festival than we had to. We started the day off with a big and fairly economical brunch at Anne Sather getting enough cinnamon roll action to keep us dancing all afternoon without having to buy the expensive food in Grant Park. Water wasn’t the most expensive I’ve seen it at an event like this at $2 for a 20 oz bottle, but we decided to tote in our own liter bottles from 7-11 and refill them from the water fountains. We had a natural buzz from all the great music, so we waited until we got back to my house and picked up a 6-pack of Goose Island 312, a Chicago classic from the grocery store. The $10 we spent would have bought us each only one watery Bud Light a piece at lolla.

Meals out can be another big wallet buster, especially if you’re going to fun or trendy places. Try taking brunch out instead of going for a steak dinner. Don’t forget you can order in or cook together, too. Or, go for traditional Chicago pizza. There’s a good chance it’ll feed you for two meals.

Mind, I didn’t shell out for the $850 VIP passes, but I still cringed a little when I pushed the button. And I didn’t even get tickets for the whole weekend. The task of paying to see live music acts is, after all, becoming increasingly tricky.

If you didn’t pay to see the acts in the festival, you might be able to catch a few of them at Lolla after-shows. Some of them are still not sold out. NBC Chicago has been keeping tabs on what are shaping up to be the best after-parties. (There’s some overlap here)

As it gets closer to go-time for the after-shows, take a look on craigslist. Sometimes people will be trying to shed tickets for less than face value close to concert-time, if they’re not really hot tickets. I decided to search for Andrew Bird tickets for Schubas tonight (even though I’ll see him at the festival tomorrow) to see if there were any deals. Tickets that sold (and went fast) for $40 a piece are now going for $200 to the $400 range, but then Andrew’s a Chicago favorite.

The Decemberists pre-show tonight looks a little more reasonable, with most tickets going for close to face value at $40. Though some of the requests come with caveats, like guessing the seller’s favorite Decemberists song.

So, if you’re looking to hear some sweet songs this weekend, look to the after shows and to Craigslist. I’ll let you know how the festival goes and how much I end up shelling out for bottled water down at Grant Park.

Creative Commons photo by Flickr user (nutmeg)

Hard up for cash while you’re waiting for that Google AdSence check to come? No luck getting into a medical study for topical ringworm medication?

There might be more alternatives than you think.

Wisebread has a list of Six Weird Things People Sell for Cash and weird is right.

Unfortunately, the scarcity principle comes into play here too. I would gladly sell all of my chicken poop or false teeth, if I had any to begin with.

I also don’t have any (creepy) Princess Diana dolls or simple machines I’m willing to put on the block. But as long as the “world’s oldest profession” is in a slump, why not try one of the world’s newest and dip a toe into the murky online classified pool of  Craigslist?

The breadth and affordability of stuff I can find on there  never ceases to amaze me. I’ve yet to sell anything of my own, but I got a solid deal on a bicycle a couple of months ago and I’m in the process of using it to search for an affordable sublet in D.C.

Before the Internet, how easily could you have found someone with whom you could barter an area rug for bar-tending services, or a someone to rent your collection of sombreros?

Like any good market, it’s bringing the buyers and sellers together to discover prices. And that means we all get what we want. Plus cash for our sombreros.

By Kellen M. Henry

Where I grew up, coffee was something your mom made in the kitchen and your dad schlepped to the office in one of those green Stanley thermoses. Coffee shops were places people went if they lived in other states.

Coffee used to be utilitarian. Like buffalo plaid and canned beer, it was more demonstrative of people who got up early and punched a time card than people who exploring the depths of their own indolence and disposable income, hanging off of pleather coffee shops loveseats.

These days, even my little hometown of Princeton, W.Va. (pop. 6,347) sports a Starbucks and I’m a well-entrenched member of the latter coffee-drinking class. Since Starbucks shops are the dandelion of Chicago, I often turn to Intelligentsia Coffee, the boutiquiest of specialty coffee shops, to keep my sense of superiority well-tuned.

At about three bucks a pop for a regular drip coffee, that means I’ll spend more than $1,000 on coffee a year, not counting the days when i’m tempted by an americano, espresso or some kind of frilly croissant. I don’t want to think of how many giant oil-drum sized containers of plain old Maxwell House that could buy from the grocery store. (That’s right… you can buy coffee at the grocery store)

With people ostensibly cutting back on non-essential purchases and the warm weather making other treats more tempting, I’ve noticed that the chain coffee places are really stepping it up.  Here, McDonalds is heavily promoting its McCafe products on the CTA, as it pursues Starbucks‘ status as ringleader of the easy gourmet coffee circus. The burger joint is also slinging free mocha on Mondays until August 3.

Starbucks has taken up what I call the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” tactic– If they can lure you into the store, you’re going to pick up the freebie and but probably something else too. Tomorrow, July 21, they’re giving away free pastries with the purchase of a beverage from opening to 10:30 a.m. Since you’re saving on breakfast, it’s pretty tempting to order a larger coffee, right?

And then there’s the yellow receipt deal. For the summer, any morning purchase at Starbucks gets you are coupon for a Grande-sized cold drink for $2, about half off. Not only is the store getting a boost for lagging afternoon traffic, but they’re also tempting you to buy some other treats with the money you’re saving.

It’s not hard to figure out the angle they’re working here, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be advantageous to the caffeine addict too. If I can get two sizable coffees for $4.50, I’m doing better than when I’m paying $3 for one smaller beverage, a la Intelligentsia.

There’s no doubt I’ll still indulge frequently. Intelligentsia’s coffee is really delicious, its atmosphere is delightful and it’s baristas are super-humanly attractive. But before class tonight, it looks like I’m headed to Starbucks, yellow receipt in hand.

By Kellen Henry

Ordinarily, I would’ve blown a bunch of money celebrating Independence Day, but my parents were kind enough to pick up the tab for a whole slew of weekend activities.

My folks have made a lot of smart decisions with their finances and savings over the years and are in the position to be able to take a nice vacation or two, but they’re also pretty savvy about looking for bargains and planning in advance. Here are a few things we did to make the weekend great and slightly cheaper.

Plan ahead: Ordering tickets ahead of a trip means you spend less time rushing around and waiting in line and more time enjoying your vacation. My mom ordered 3-day CTA passes online before the trip for $14 a piece. Had they bought individual fair passes, they would have probably spent more in one day than they did for the whole weekend.

Looking for specials: A museum visit in Chicago will set you back about $20, but if you keep an eye out, you might be able to catch a free night. We visited The Art Institute of Chicago during their Free Admission hours, which are 5-9 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays. Remember to ask for a discount with a student ID as well!

We also lucked out on our visit to one of the Neo-Futurists theater’s weekend shows of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. On the first Sunday of every month this year, the admission price for this quirky, fun show is deeply discounted. You’ll pay no more than $6 to attend, where regular admission runs from $10 to $15, depending on the roll of a six-sided die.

Free fun: There are usually some free events going on in the city, if you know where to look. Unlike lots of Chicago summer festivals, Taste of Chicago didn’t have a “suggested donation” to get in. We did buy food and beverages there, but we just as easily could have brought a picnic to the park. We stuck around Grant Park for the fireworks display from Buckingham Fountain celebration of Independence Day, also free if you didn’t mind sharing the park with about 1 million other people.

I guess sometimes freedom can be free…